Friends of Snakes: Dispelling myths and reaffirming that snakes are not bad!

An NGO based out of Hyderabad, “Friends of Snakes” is reinforcing the ancient Indian ethos of respect for all form of life, irrespective of whether it is human or animal.

How often have you seen the mayhem which follows after a snake is sighted? Most often, after a frenzy of shouting, yelling and chasing, the snake ends up being smashed to death. Unless of course it is lucky enough to slither away to safety.

Consider this: Of the 275 snake species that are found in India, approximately 70% of them are non-venomous. These non-venomous snakes help maintain the biodiversity balance by devouring on rodents who in turn are responsible of destroying a quarter of our food grain produce. Nature has its own ways of managing and controlling biodiversity and our tendency to meddle in this is not the wisest of things to do.

Promotion

Late Raj Kumar Kanuri with a Cobra snake

Most of the hatred against snakes stems from lack of awareness and the presence of myths. To break these myths and to save these beautiful reptiles from being killed unnecessarily, an organization in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh has been established by the name “Friends of Snakes”. Friends of Snakes was established in the year 1995 by Raj Kumar Kanuri, with the help of his mother Mrs. Joan Kanuri and Mr. K. V. Rao.

Since its inception, Friends of Snakes has been leading educational demonstrations in villages, educational institutions, corporate offices, social meetings. The organization also runs a snake rescue and rehabilitation centre which works 24/7, attending to human-snake encounter situations where the lives of both are at risk.

While the founder of the society with this unique mission is no more with us, yet his team of volunteers continues on this path, helping create a balanced ecosphere. Many would think that this effort is not worth much and arguably so. But we need to sit back and think how much these tiny steps could add-up to, if people in all communities draw inspiration from this selfless mission.